Translate

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

I want to be a spark plug...

Note: Despite the title and the picture below, today’s post is not about spark plugs.

But it IS a fitting analogy for an epiphany I had early on in my writer’s journey. And now it's really hitting home, since my debut, Splintered, is being offered to reviewers on netgalley and in hard copy ARC form. I'm starting to get reviews, be they positive or negative, and the spark plug analogy is keeping me sane. Here’s the definition of a spark plug taken from Wikipedia: A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed aerosol gasoline by means of an electric spark.In other words … it magically brings the engine to life. Vroom vroom. But there’s more than one kind of spark plug. So you have to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for choosing the right one to ensure it’s a good fit, or it won’t work. A bad fit means the spark won’t ignite, and there will be no vroom vroom.A couple of years ago, when I was in the submission trenches with my first agent and my adult literary romance, we received feedback from an editor: I enjoyed the unique storyline and heroine, and I thought the author put a fresh twist on paranormal romance. But as I read, I just didn’t feel a strong emotional connection with the story, so it’s with sincere regret that I’m stepping aside.I could whittle that entire explanation down into one phrase. No vroom vroom. I wasn’t the right fit for her, and there was no magical spark.Ouch! That started me second guessing. Where did I go wrong? Why can’t I make everyone connect with my story? Surely, if my characters or storyline can’t capture every single reader’s affections, I have no hope of being a best seller or of winning a loyal fan base. Right? Well, shortly thereafter I read a best-selling book at the time — one that I’d been chewing on for several weeks — and something clicked into place for me. The book had tons of sales, was well liked according to the majority of the reviews, and the publishers promoted it relentlessly (quite possibly the very reason why it had such great sales). But upon closing that last page, I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Meh”. I mentally gave the book a 2 star rating out of 5. I liked the concept, and enjoyed the author’s writing style. But for some reason … and I could never put my finger on why … I didn’t connect emotionally with the MC. Actually, with any of the characters. Yet I read that book front to back, just because the premise and writing style drew me in and held my attention. So I guess there’s hope; even without the vroom, sometimes people are willing to shift it into neutral and push on to the end of the road, if only to take in the scenery. Some readers may not like my fantasy worlds or my plots, or they may not like my characters for their decisions or actions. My characters are flawed and human; sometimes they make mistakes, or don't think things through and act impulsively like real people do. If I write them in such a way to try to fit everyone's ideal, they become nothing more than cardboard cutouts. So, I have to stay true to my characters and my story, although it will mean losing some readers.But even if someone doesn't like one element of my book, maybe they'll like another enough to read it to the very last line. That's an accomplishment in and of itself.Maybe the science of writing isn’t quite as precise as the science of automobiles. But it occurred to me that subjectivity can be compared to finding the right spark plug (book) to fit the right engine (reader). Not everyone will love my stories, or my characters, or even my writing style. But all three WILL appeal to some and I will be a perfect fit for them. There’s just too many people with differing opinions and interests for it not to. So, my hope now that my debut novel is finally getting read? That most readers will like at least one thing about it enough to push through to the end. But even more, I hope to be the spark plug some reader has been looking high and low for, that they'll connect to the story in everyway, and it will ignite their imagination. And then: Vroom vroom … let the magic begin.

21 comments:

Such a lovely post :) I can't imagine the anxiety you must feel knowing your baby is out there alone in the big scary world, but it sounds like you're in a good place as far as your mindset. I think it's best to go into these situations with the expectation that some people just won't like your work, as opposed to wanting and expecting everyone to like it. Everyone has different tastes . . . Can you imagine how boring book stores would be if everyone liked the same books? Sure, there might be some people who won't like Splintered (though I don't know who--I don't associate with those types ;), but I think you're going to be pleasently surprised by how many people fall in love with your writing. I haven't even read it, yet, and I'm already in love! :)

Hey there pink princess goat. :) It IS scary. Aack! But it comes to a point where you just have to let go. I posted this over at ADR3NALIN3 today, too, and one of the blog members there said that she saw bestseller Joe Finder at a conference once, and he said that an author has to accept that no matter how much blood & sweat they put into a book that 20% of readers won't get it. Well, I can live with 80% connecting. Them are good odds. ;)

And you're so sweet and supportive! LOL. Look at you, shunning the nonbelievers. #goatwub you girl.

Awesome analogy, AG! I think this is a perfect way to describe and to picture how it goes. I've had that same experience with head-scratching on some huge books and then just going gaga over others that not many had read.

I needed to read this so badly. My book has started to receive reviews as well, and while many good reviews feel amazing, it only takes one bad one to shake the confidence. Thank you for posting about this experience! It's a great reminder to keep things in perspective.

Court, that is so true. I don't know if it's just human nature or what, but it's so much more tempting to dwell on the bad instead of the good. But if we can just keep subjectivity foremost in our thoughts, maybe we can beat the author's neurosis. LOL

This is such a good post!! Everything you say is completely true. Not everyone is going to like every book that they read...but we all hope there is a twinge of something that makes them carry on.

And really? I'd be surprised to find someone who'd class Splintered as a DNF, even if they didn't enjoy it. There's something magical about it that wants to you read every page and pulls you to that last line. That's just my thoughts anyway, as you know I'm completely biased :D

As for DNFs, I saw a tweet where one reader only skimmed the last third of the book because they were so annoyed w/the characters/love triangle. That's the biggest complaint I've heard about the book so far--the love triangle.

I actually wrote the triangle as symbolism for the yin and yang aspects of the story, and the choice that Alyssa has to make at the end of the book, as per where her loyalties would belong. It's a chance I took, because w/out that inner conflict for Alyssa, my book would lose something, IMO.

But it's all good. Readers who it doesn't bother will get exactly what the blurb promises: a crazy mad adventure into Wonderland, where a girl finds her inner strength and makes peace with who she is. At the end of the day, that's what really matters, being true to the the story. :)

Love this post! If you've heard it once, you've heard it a million times... the publishing world is subjective... but so are readers. It would be so boring to live if we all loved the same things. But good storytelling will go a long way. I can't wait to get my hands on Splintered because even in a blog post your words drawn me in. I can only imagine how addicted I will be to an entire novel! Counting the days until that ARC comes in the mail!